Device for recording meter readings.



'- No. 678,871 Patented July 23, l90l.

c. n. HASKINS.

DEVISE FOB RECORDING METER READINGS.

(Application filed Feb. ll, 1899.)

(No Model.)

. A I JJIL I Q I CargLIlHaskLns, WMJMM' UNITED STATES PATENT OEEiCE.

OARYL D. HASKINS, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE GENERALELECTRIC COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

DEVICE FOR RECORDING METER READINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 678,871, dated July23, 1901. Application filed February 11, 1899. Serial No. 705,245. (Nomodel.)

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARYL D. HASKINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newton, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for RecordingMeter Readings, (Case No. 897,) of which the following is aspecification.

Many of the errors in rendering bills for electric current or gassupplied by meter are due to inaccuracy in meter readings. In a greatmany cases low-priced labor is used for this purpose, and the consequentinaccuracies are a source of friction between the consumer and thestation. To eliminate as far as possible such errors, I have devised mypresent invention, which consists of a contrivance for printing from themeter-dial itself a record which shall be indisputable and show exactlythe reading at the time of taking the impression. Such devices have beenheretofore proposed, but they have been open to some objections. One ofthem has con sisted of hands upon the meter-dials, which turned up atthe point, so that by pressing a printed form over the hands theirpositions were punctured on the form. This, however, was crude andunsatisfactory, particularly because it exposed the hands to accident.Furthermore, it was not uncommon for the points to puncture more thanone slip of paper where these were superposed on a pad and give rise toambiguity of reading, and in that form of the device which printedreadings upon a continuous strip duplications were often caused byfailure to move the strip after each reading. The present inventionavoids thesetroubles. Instead of the ordinary dial aso-calledcyclometer-dial meter, in which the reading is by a succession of Arabicfigures, which show through the face plate of the meter, is used. Inthis faceplate are small holes, and I arrange upon a hand-stamp dowelswhich fit into the holes to determine the position of the stamp. A stripof paper suitably prepared to receive the reading is backed by a movingplaten, and

I arrangements are made by which at eachstroke the paper is moved alonga distance sufficient to prevent duplication of reading. The number ofthe meter is also printed at the same time. By this arrangement I obtainan accurate and undeniable reading of the exact condition of the meter,together with the number, so that the record in case of controversy isindisputable.

The accompanying drawings show a device constructed according to thisinvention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of astamp and meteradapted to it. Fig. 2 is a plan of the stamp. Fig. 3 is a front view ofthe meter-dial, and Fig. 4 shows a modification.

The device is illustrated as applied to an electric meter, in which A isone of the fieldcoils, and B the armature.

E is the shaft, which drives the wheels of the registering mechanism 0.The counterdials I) are geared in the usual way for consecutiveregistration to one of the wheels of the registering mechanism. Theappearance of the dial is best seen in Fig. 3, where the number of themeter, as well as the figures showing its reading, appears.

The construction of thestamp will be best understood from Fig. 2. Inthis figure, F is the handle, and F is a rpd carrying the recordingdevice or platen G. A spring finsures the return of the platen aftereach stroke. The paper-upon which the record is printed is carried uponthe reels 9 g. A rackbar H, provided with a spring H, cooperates with apinion h, the latter having a pawl h to turn the reels 9 9, so as topresent a new paper surface atevery impression. A printing-ribbon I Iextends, across the open face of the stamp, and dowels K K are providedwhich fit into the holes 76 7t in the face-plate of the meter.

The operation of the stamp is as follows! When the dowels are placed inposition in the holes, the stamp is depressed until the per is shifted,and immediately after the ribbon I, being pressed against the raisedfigures upon the dials D and the number of the meter, prints upon thepaper a complete rec 0rd of the meter-face. The spring f then returnsthe handle to its illustrated position, the pinion h being held by thepawl 72. sliding over the rack, which moves away from it through theresilience of the spring H. The

pinion runs off the end of the rack H, the paapparatus is then ready formaking another record.

The device as so far described is open to one 0bjection--that is, thatthe figures are reversed as printed upon the recording-strip. This maybe overcome by making the meterdials type-faced; but this is notdesirable for many reasons readily apparent. In order to obviate thedifficulty, which would in practice be slight, I may employ the modifiedform of the invention shown in Fig. 4, in which the ink-ribbon isdisposed on the inner reels g g, while the paper is wound upon the reelsI I. Here the shifting device is modified by disposing friction-gears LL on the side of the outer case and a rack H upon the inner carriage,thus shifting the paper in the desired manner. In this case theink-ribbon would be manually shifted by the milled head .I, or an inkedpad of well-known type may be used. The paper passes over the reel L,around the friction-gear L, and back to reel L, around which it wound,its course being indicated by the arrows. To compen sate for the varyingdiameters of the roll upon the reel L, the latter is mounted upon aspring-bearing l, and the rack H is carried upon spring-actuatedplungers h 71 so that it may readily pass when moving back theratchet-wheel which drives the gear L. The gear is held against backwardrotation by the usual pawl. As the meter-figures are reproduced on theinner side of the paper strip, they are not type-faced, as with theconstruction shown in the other figures of the drawings.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is

1. A device for taking readings of meterdials, comprising a framecarrying a strip of paper, means for guiding the frame and bringing thepaper against the dial readings, an inking-ribbon, and a movable platenfor striking the ribbon and paper against the dial readings.

2. A device for taking readings of meterdials, comprising astamping-frame, a paper strip to receive a series of impressions,carried by the frame, means for feeding the paper after each impression,and means for guiding the same into aliuement with the meter-dial.

3. The combination with the cyclometerdials of a meter, of a hand-stampcarrying a strip of paper, an inking device, and means operated by theaction of the stamp for shifting the strip after each impression.

t. The combination with the cyelometerdial face of a meter, of ahand-stamp, means for causing the stamp to register with the plate, astrip of paper, an inking device, and gearing operated by the action ofthe stamp such that in the interval between consecutive impressions thestrip is moved sufficientiy to prevent duplication or ambiguity ofreading.

5. A hand-stamp for taking meter readings, comprising a carriage, reelscarrying a strip of paper, a movable platen operated by pressure uponthe handle of the stamp, and gearing between the handle and the stripsuch that after each operation the strip is moved sufficiently toprevent duplication of readings.

6. The combination with the cyclometerdials of a meter, of a hand-stamp,means for causing it to register with the dial-plate, a strip of papercarried by the stamp and so disposed as to come in contact with themeter readings when the device is applied to the meter, an inking-ribbonand a movable stamping-platen to strike the paper and ribbon and take animprint of the meter readings.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of February,1899.

OARYL D. HASKINS.

